This invention relates to a fishing lure, and more particularly to a fishing lure which acts to simulate live bait movement.
Common jig-type fishing lures include a fish hook having a mass of material, usually metal, formed around the end of the hook opposite the barb to create a jighead. An attachment eye is attached to and extends outwardly from the jighead to provide a point of connection to a fishing line. The jighead is often painted a bright color to attract the attention of a fish.
Typically, a fisherman attaches bait such as minnow, pork rind, or a plastic rubber worm, to the hook. When a conventional fishing jig, as described, is cast out and reeled in, the configuration of the jighead creates several drawbacks. First, since jigheads are typically uniform in shape and somewhat streamlined, the fishing jig tends to travel through the water in a straight path, drawing the bait similarly through the water in a straight path. Such straight line movement of the bait through the water does not typically attract fish.
In order to alleviate this problem, a live minnow is often attached to the fishing jig, such that the swimming movement of the minnow will attract fish. However, after being cast out and reeled in repeatedly, the minnow tires and tends to be drawn through the water in a straight path, defeating the original purpose for using the live bait. Further, the constant replacement of the minnow on the fishing jig can be troublesome and expensive.
As an alternative to the use of a live minnow, many attempts have been made to provide fishing jigs and/or artificial bait which simulate live bait movement. The most common attempt includes a mechanism, such as a fin, which causes the lure to wobble when the lure is pulled through the water by a fishing line. However, these types of lures are generally large in size and costly to manufacture.
A second drawback of using a fishing jig relates to the weight of a conventional fishing jig. Jigheads are typically made of metal, and hence normally sink and travel near the bottom of the lake or river where the exposed hook can be easily entangled in the weeds. It is well known in the fishing industry to render a hook weedless by providing a series of reedlike deflectors that originate from the shank of the hook and extend to a point near the barb of the hook. To be effective, the weed deflector must be stiff enough to deflect the weed so that it will not contact and become entangled in the hook, while not being too stiff to interfere with the setting of the hook in the mouth of the fish. As with fishing lures which have attempted to simulate live bait movement, these modifications to the hook may be difficult and costly to manufacture.
Therefore, it is a primary object and feature of the present invention to provide an artificial bait structure for use with a conventional fishing jig which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.
It is a further object and feature of the present invention to provide an artificial bait structure which simulates live bait movement and which discourages the entanglement of the fishing hook in weeds.
In accordance with the present invention, an artificial bait structure includes a head having a first forward end and a second rearward end. First and second generally flat fins or legs project rearwardly from the rearward end of the head along a longitudinal axis. Each leg is defined by a first inner edge and a second outer edge, and terminates at a rearward end. A projection extends rearwardly from the rearward end of each leg.
A rib extends along the outer edge of each leg between the head and the rearward end of the corresponding leg. In addition, protrusions or nipples project from the topside of the head and both sides of the each leg. The ribs and the nipples add surface area to the artificial bait structure, which, in turn, causes the legs to flutter so as to simulate the movement of live bait. Further, the generally flat surface area of the legs urges the artificial bait structure, and hence the fishing jig, upwardly when the artificial bait structure is drawn through the water keeping the fishing jig and the artificial bait out of weeds on the bottom of a lake or a river.